Update: TMNT Tuesdays!

Starting tomorrow, I decided I'd mix it up a little bit with reviewing some TMNT figures every Tuesday for the next little while. They're pretty basic figures mostly meant for kids, which makes it not so much work to write and shoot.

The TMNT Line has been owned by Playmates Toys, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong toy company, Playmates holdings, for many many years (since 1966).  Playmates actually sort of hovers for me between the area of too-bright, bulky, unarticulated Vs. adult collectible toy for this line.
The turtle brothers actually have a decent amount of articulation and range for their price point as well as the typical unpainted sprue accessories. The other characters look fairly close to the show but don't really have as many posing options, which is a shame.

Back in the day (oh yes I did), the older TMNT line had the characters in every kind of style and outfit imaginable, such as:

Wind up toys:


to "disguised" turtles (I had Mikey, but really was jealous of my friends' leonardo)



to some REALLY bizarre stuff:


*All images courtesy of tmnttoys.com

There have been quite a few lines since the first line based on movies and other tv shows.
I have a soft spot for TMNT toys because they were the very first action figures I remember having as a kid since I was so inundated at the time by the 1980s TV cartoon. I didn't have most of the crazy versions, but I do distinctly remember owning the basic four, krang, a mouser, foot soldier, and maybe some random versions like the turtle transforming Raph.

The TMNT toys are what actually got me first into collecting as an adult, ironically enough a few years ago. I had seen a friend get a few nice figures that looked great on his shelf and reminded me how much I missed the cartoons and make-believe pastimes of my youth, then I was introduced by the same friend to the newer TMNT (2012) series. I was kinda blown away! It was CG, but it was, what I considered, to be pretty good. The humour was great, and they even added in many japanese terms, something I think the other series --including the original--were missing.

I am kinda sad to see the series end! I'm not a big fan of the aesthetic look of the new upcoming series: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but I was willing to give the 2012 series a chance, so as a fan I'll do the same for this series.

DC Collectibles Manbat - Arkham Knight

Kirk Langstrom is a successful scientist and loving husband who is quickly developing chronic deafness. So what does he do? What any comic book good guy turned-villain would do. Splices DNA with that of a bat in order to counteract his disorder. Now, this is the part where you ignore science, because he ends up turning himself into an animalistic, superhuman strong bat creature.

As an opponent to Batman, he's a little bit limited in what is done story-wise with the character, in that he's more of a tragic villain. A bit of a Jekyll and Hyde type, rather than a malicious, evil psychopath that is typical of Batman's rogue gallery.
In the game, unlike some of the comics, he kills his wife during his transformation, then pretty much just flies around the city until you discover and try to cure him. Now, I was actually expecting his appearance, as it is a bit of a jump-scare, and he still scared the CRAP outta me when the scene came. His role is a side mission called Creature of the Night, which isn't particularly long.

SH Figuarts- Sasuke Uchiha (Itachi Battle Version)

Sasuke has always been a cold-hearted rival to Naruto who hailed from the same Ninja village, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. At least, he started out that way, then became a deserter/traitor, full blown villain and then other things! His character is always portrayed as an angry, competitive and very powerful shinobi.

Unlike Naruto, whose powers mostly focus on the Rasengan, Shadow clones and Wind powers, Sasuke's are mostly those of fire, lightning and his eye-powers of the Sharingan, which can do a variety of things from creating illusions, summoning unquenchable black fire, and precognition of movements in battle. Pretty useful!

DC Direct - Martian Manhunter

How do you top a Kryptonian with super strength, speed, stamina, flight, heat vision, freezing breath and nigh invulnerability? Easy! A martian who can do all those things, and more!

J'onn J'onzz is Martian Manhunter, a being who even Superman said: "He is the most powerful being on the face of the Earth".  - JLA #80

I really like the character of Martian Manhunter. He's got a gentle, compassionate personality as well as being very badass in his ability to do...just about anything! Super-everything, invisibility, shape-changing are just a few of his powers. Like Supes, they had to sneak in ONE weakness, which is fire...because! Later on, writers created this as a built-in psychosomatic effect to J'onn's race in order to prevent them from regressing to a more domineering, aggressive, conquest-type of race. They later removed this weakness completely. Oh, writers! 

DC Icons - Robin (Super Sons pack)

Damian Wayne is the 13 year old progeny of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul. Raised by his mother and his grandfather, Ra's Al Ghul, he is dropped at Batman's door. He starts out very self-important, lacking in empathy and an extremely deadly fighter.

Even though he can act like a real dick (pun intended), I have a soft-spot for Damian. He's got a very distinct personality, and he experiences real character growth in the comics. He also is pretty good at kicking butt and executing a very independent version of Robin.

DC Icons - Superboy (Super Sons pack)

Johnathan Samuel Kent is the latest and greatest version of Superboy from the DC Rebirth comics. He is the 10 year old half-Kryptonian child of Superman and Lois Lane who has begun to gradually gain his powers. They are inconsistent powers, and fluctuate with his emotional state, but are impressive nonetheless!

He joins Robin (Damien Wayne) in the comic series Super Sons to fight various foes alongside allies like the Teen Titans. Super sons was actually a comic series created long before Rebirth in 1973. In that older series, it was Clark Kent Jr. (Of Clark and Lois) and Bruce Wayne Jr.(Of Bruce and Talia), who were basically young versions of their fathers.

DC Icons - Supergirl (Rebirth)

Kara-Zor El is the cousin of Superman and has undergone a death, retcon and many redesigns over the years. She has the fully matured powers of Superman but with less of the fine control he has had from years living under a yellow sun.

This is the Rebirth version of Supergirl which means she is primarily based off the TV show Supergirl starring Melissa Benoist. Her costume design is a mix of some previous costume elements from other comics. I am really not big into the Superman/Kryptonian storylines but this figure and the Super Sons comics caused my figure-addicted brain to DEMAND I buy this figure.

I really like the proportions and look of this figure. I try on occasion to buy female figures that aren't overly sexualized, which can be quite difficult! Now she does have a skirt but consider for a moment that she doesn't have an exposed midriff, cleavage and isn't wearing actual red underwear with nothing else (unlike the other iterations of Supergirl). This version has a strong facial expression and comes with a few nice accessories. The cape that overhands the shoulders is a tiny big annoying if you want to get her shoulders up, but the material is very thin plastic that does have give to it.

Funko - Batman '66

Funko has existed since 1998 (wow) but didn't really get big into the game until 2005 when they signed a TON of licensing deals with other companies like Marvel, DC Comics and Lucasfilm, to name a few! Funko is most well known for their bobble-headed POP figures, but they have increasingly made lines of nostalgia toys for some iconic movies and films.

A wave of figures was released for the 1966 Batman tv show starring Adam West (R.I.P.) as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. This included Batgirl, Batman, Robin, King Tut, Bookworm, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze and the Batmobile! I haven't watched a ton of the 1966 Batman tv show, but I have seen enough to know it was campy, funny, ridiculous and fantastic all at the same time.

This figure and other Funkos are certainly not designed for their wide range of articulation or playability. They more serve as a static collector's pieces to be remembered fondly.
That said, the head has surprising articulation, and his little batradar is a neatly made and painted accessory that fits fairly well in his hand. This is not a typical figure to my collection, as it was a gift, but a welcome addition nonetheless!

DC Icons - Green Lantern (Dark Days)

There are a lot of Green Lanterns, and I like them all, except maybe Guy Gardner...he's kind of a jerk! I enjoy the whole theme of the emotional electromagnetic spectrum, the emotions that manifest the powers, and all the other associated lore. It's neat seeing artists and writers get creative with the kinds of aliens and people that join the various Lantern corps as well.

This particular Lantern is Hal Jordan, maverick air pilot turned Lantern who reminds me a bit of Tom Cruise in Top Gun in personality. They take the design and accessories from his stint in "Dark Days", an 8 issue series that sees Hal Jordan become the leader of the Green Lantern Corps to figure out why the power rings from every colour of the rainbow are dying out.

I'm generally pretty happy with this figure*. It comes in a deluxe set, and unlike Cyborg, I feel there are actually enough parts and pieces that make for a lot of fun photography and display options.
He is an earlier creation in the DC Icons line though, so while his articulation is decent, he doesn't have the drop down hips, and for whatever reason, the ball peg to the head is difficult to turn.
He is painted fairly well, though the ring lacks detail.

*Note: I had a hard time deciding between the Jon Stewart, Hal Jordan and 7 pack Green Lantern figures..but in the end, decided to go with more accessories! 

Update: Rating System Upheaval!

So remember how I mentioned how I wasn't completely satisfied with the rating system and it would be subject to change? Well, here is another subject to change!

Problem #1: Even though a particular figure is actually very good, the verdict often ends up being quite a bit lower than I feel it deserves given how high it scores in most areas. 

Problem #2: The system is unbalanced since the last update, since now a good Accessory and Fun Factor rating can be swamped by a bad Price/Availability score. 

Solution #1: Set the Price/Availability down to a 5 point system (which is easily manageable). 
Problem #3: A 35 point Verdict system seems clunky and not very translatable into a %, or equal part system.

Solution #2: Re-balance EVERYTHING by changing all categories to a 5 point system, thereby making a Verdict rating of 25 points. Seems like this would work while allowing for a bad Price/Availability score not to ruin a whole verdict score. It also is perhaps true that the amount of variance in the sculpt and articulation doesn't really need a 10 point range for evaluation purposes.

Ok, so here is the revamped system!

Sculpt&Paint:  /5
1 - Little /No paint. Sculpt work is very basic molding and is missing details in many places. 
2- Some paint work. May have shading. Sculpt is passable but missing details.
3 -Decent sculpt work, decent painted parts, some decent shading. 
4 -Very well done sculpt and paint work, many eye-catching details, very character accurate. 
5- Excellently done paint and sculpt, spot on to the character represented. 

Articulation:  /5
1 - 5-10 points of articulation: No special joints, primarily swivels
2- 11-15 PoA. Some ball joints. Limited range. No or few doubled joints.
3 - 16-20 PoA. Improved range. Ab joints and ankle articulation present. 
4 - 21-29 PoA. Doubled wrist, ankle, knee and elbow articulation. May include toe and butterfly joints. Good range of movement in most joints.
5 -30+ Joints. Amazing poseability and range. May include extras (eyes, clothing items). 

Price/Availability:  /5 
1- You are made of money and can find one or two sources that even sell online! Damn scalppers.... 
2 - Hard to find. Available online or from the rare collector. Easily 200%+ of its original value.
3 - Mostly available online only from few sellers. Expect to pay 125-150% of original value. 
4 -Available most places at standard price, or fewer places at a decent discount (10-50%). 
5- Either available everywhere at standard price, or heavily (50%+) discounted. 

Accessories:  /5
1 = No accessories, or 1 accessory. It may be lacking in some detail or paint. 
2 = 1-3 Accessories, usually extra weapons. Decent detail and/or paint. 
3 = 2-5 accessories. This may include extra hands or effects/swap-able pieces. 
4 = 5+: Extra hands, maybe a head, weapons and other good pieces.
5 = Nearly everything you could want given the character! All well done. 

Fun Factor: /5
1 = Figure is poorly balanced, many QC issues, difficult to pose in anything other than the standard standing "vanilla" pose. Likely to break with "over-play"
2 = Figure can balance, has some variety in poses. Solid, and unlikely to break with play. 
3 = Figure can balance in a variety of poses. looks good on the shelf, compares well to other figures in its line or universe. Very good aesthetic look and mix of glossy and matte.  
4 = Lots of fun, the way the sculpt and paint work out create a dynamic, solid figure that balances in tons of poses. May even be able to balance on one foot! 
5 = This is a top 10 figure. Tons of fun, great poseability. You'll probably never get rid of this figure, according to me anyway! 


Verdict:  /25
1-5: Poor: Not a good figure, even if you like collecting this particular type or line of figures. 
6-10: Limited: Fine for the completionist/hardcore collector, but basically you got a statue.
11-15: Okay: Some decent poseability or paint/sculpt and accessories. Limited options. 
16-20: Good: Pretty nice figure on its own merits, even if you lack interest in the line/character.
20-23: Great: Great aesthetic with lots of play, options and more. Get it right meow! 
24-25: Amazing: Is this what action figure Nirvana feels like?

This makes more sense and maybe my readers can more easily translate this into a % figure and/or something that is easier to think about than out of 40!